How will AI reshape democracy? Can ancient civilizations like China and Greece guide modern governance? Over 300 officials and experts from 70 countries and regions tackled these questions head-on at Beijing’s International Forum on Democracy this week. Here’s the tea. ☕
Tech Meets Ballot Box
Former Greek Foreign Minister George Katrougalos dropped truth bombs: ‘Democracy isn’t a Netflix algorithm – it needs human participation, not just likes and shares.’ 🤖 The forum highlighted how AI could boost transparency but warned against letting Big Tech monopolize civic spaces.
China-Greece: OGs of Civilization
With 50+ years of diplomatic swag, Katrougalos called the China-Greece bond ‘a Marvel-level team-up against global chaos.’ 💥 Both nations emphasized dialogue over dogma – think ‘Ao Bing vs. Zeus’ energy but for real-world policymaking.
Gen Z’s Democracy Remix
Young delegates pushed for TikTok-style civic engagement: faster, visually-driven, and multilingual. One Kenyan activist joked: ‘If your democracy app doesn’t work on 4G, it’s ancient history.’ 📲
While no one cracked the perfect democracy code, the forum proved one thing: the conversation’s heating up faster than your morning matcha. Stay tuned. 🍵
